I came across a figure in the
Bible who instituted his own religious festival.The
intriguing thing about him is that he appears to be a
Type of Antichrist.If so, the date of his festival may point to a
future date that will be important to the Antichrist.

The man's name is Jeroboam and
he became the first king of the 10 northern tribes of
Israel.

He was actually chosen by God
to be a tool of judgment, but he became corrupt and
rebelled against God :

"About that time Jeroboam was going out
of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him
on the way, wearing a new cloak.The two of
them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold
of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve
pieces.Then
he said to Jeroboam, 'Take ten pieces for yourself for
this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: See, I
am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and
give you ten tribes.But for the sake of my servant David and the city
of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes
of Israel, he will have one tribe.I will do
this because they have forsaken me and worshiped
Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god
of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites,
and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right
in my eyes, nor kept my statues and laws as David,
Solomon's father, did.But I will not take the whole kingdom out of
Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of
his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose
and who observed my commands and statutes.'"1 Kings
11:29-34.

After the death of Solomon and
his 40 year reign, the 10 northern tribes rebelled
against his son Rehoboam because he promised to rule
them with an even heavier yoke than his father.So the people
made Jeroboam their king, with only the Tribe of Judah
remaining loyal to the house of David.See 1 Kings
12:20.

Unfortunately, Jeroboam forgot
that God was the one who put him in power.He took steps
to keep the northern tribes separate from Judah, which
had its center of worship in Jerusalem.Instead, he
set up a new worship center to discourage the people
from going to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the
temple.

"After seeking
advice, the king made two golden calves.He said to
the people, 'It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem.Here
are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of
Egypt.'One
he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.And this
thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan
to worship the one there.Jeroboam built shrines on high places and
appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though
they were not Levites.He
instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the
eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and
offered sacrifices on the altar.This he did
in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made.And at Bethel
he also installed priests at the high places he had
made.On the fifteenth
day of the eighth month, a month of his own
choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he
had built at Bethel.So he instituted the festival for the
Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings."1 Kings
12:28-33.

(2)Jeroboam was the king of the northern tribes.Antichrist is
called the King of the North.(See Daniel 11:28.)

(3)God eventually punished the 10 tribes for the
idolatry originated by Jeroboam.The Northern
Kingdom was conquered by the Assyrian Empire, and many
of its people were exiled.The Antichrist is called the
Assyrian.(See
Isaiah 14:25 and Micah 5:5.)

(4)Jeroboam instituted his own apostate religious
system, which included the worship of images.Antichrist
will institute his own apostate religious system, which
will include the worship of his image.(See
Revelation 13:11-18.)

(5)Jeroboam discouraged the offering of sacrifices
at the temple in Jerusalem.Antichrist will put an end to
sacrifice and offering.(See Daniel 9:27.)

(6)Jeroboam tried to change God's calendar by adding
a festival modeled after the Feast of Tabernacles.He put it in
the eighth month, when God's cycle of Levitical feasts
ended in the seventh month.Antichrist will "try to change the
set times and the laws."See Daniel 7:25.

(7)When Jeroboam reached out his hand against a
prophet, his hand shriveled up.(1 Kings
13:4.)Antichrist
will be struck by a sword which will result in his arm
being "completely withered."Zechariah 11:17.

(8)There was a man of God from Judah who decried an
altar set up by Jeroboam. On his way home, he was deceived by
another prophet who gave him a false prophecy.(See 1 Kings
13.)Antichrist
will have a False Prophet who will deceive many.(See
Revelation 13:11-14.)

(9)Jeroboam is known as the man “who caused Israel
to sin.”(2
Kings 23:15.)Antichrist
is known as the man of sin.(See 2 Thessalonians 2:3.)

(10)The
house of Jeroboam was completely destroyed.(See 1 Kings
21:20-22.)Antichrist
will be completely destroyed.(See Daniel 7:11 and 2
Thessalonians 2:7.)

Because of the similarities between Jeroboam and
the Antichrist, it is possible that the festival of
Jeroboam is prophetically significant to the Antichrist.On the Jewish
calendar, the eighth month is called Cheshvan.

This year, the 15th day of Cheshvan falls on
November 12, 2011.Since Jewish days start at sunset on the previous
day, it will actually start on the evening of 11-11-11.So, there may
be another reason for us to keep our eye out on this
date.

(This probably does not mean anything, but
Jeroboam reigned for 22 years.See 1 Kings 14:20.I could not
help noticing that there are 2 sets of elevens in the
number 22.)